


Coping 3:  Guilty Play

by Grey (grey853)



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Angst, Drama, M/M, Series: Coping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-10
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-12-11 04:23:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/793934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grey853/pseuds/Grey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Love is never easy.  It's Jim, Blair, and Jim's football.<br/>This story is a sequel to Coping 2.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coping 3:  Guilty Play

## Coping 3: Guilty Play

by Grey

Author's webpage: <http://grey.ravenshadow.net/>

* * *

Title: Coping 3: Guilty Play  
Author: Grey  
E-Mail address: Grey853@aol.com  
Rating: PG-13 for language, no sex, just spitting and bickering Pairing: J/B  
Status: New  
Date: March 29, 1998  
Archive: Yes to both  
Archive author: Same  
Archive email: Grey853@aol.com  
Series: Number 3 in the "Coping" series. Other website: <http://grey.ravenshadow.net/>

* * *

Disclaimer: Not my characters. Just because they live in my head doesn't mean I own them. They come and go as they please. Really, honest. No chains. Well, just little silver ones. 

Notes: This is not the last of the series. There are going to be several, some very short, others much longer, more serious. 

Summary: Love is never easy, especially when there's a threesome. It's Jim, Blair, and Jim's football. 

Guilty Play  
by Grey 

Blair Sandburg hunched over his laptop and pecked stubbornly at the keyboard. He typed a line and then backspaced to a blank screen. Behind him the football thumped against his lover's hand over and over again as Jim stared out at the water-logged city of Cascade. It'd been raining for days. 

"Hey, Chief, you going to finish that paper anytime soon?" 

"You going to stop playing with that damn ball anytime soon? I'm starting to get jealous." 

"Well, I have had it a lot longer than I've had you." 

Turning, not in the least bit amused, Blair snapped, "So, is that why you learned to fumble so well?" 

Jim moved closer to his partner and studied the anger in his usually smooth face. "Okay, you want to tell me why you're so pissed all of a sudden?" 

Shaking his head, Blair turned back to his laptop. He took off his glasses and wearily rubbed his forehead. "I'm sorry. That was a stupid thing to say. I'm just tired. Forget it." The hand on his shoulder startled him. 

"It meant something. Tell me." 

"I said I was sorry, man. Lay off. I've just got a lot on my mind." 

Jim persisted. "Come on, Chief. We've barely spoken all weekend. 

"And who's fault is that? I'm not the one playing patty cake with his football instead of talking to his partner." 

"What are you so mad about?" 

Standing abruptly, Blair tried to break free from the grip, but Jim held tight. "Not so fast, Junior." 

"Don't call me that and get the hell off." 

Releasing his young lover, Jim stared after him as Blair went to the kitchen, jerked open the refrigerator, and got a cold beer. "I'm a little confused here, Chief. Did I do something to piss you off and you're just now getting around to telling me or is this another one of your tests?" 

"Funny, Jim. I swear sometimes you are like so incredibly clueless." Blair took a deep drink. "This whole damn weekend you've avoided me like the plague. No sex, no talk, hell, not even a hug since that little drop by. Now, you want to know what's wrong." 

Jim lowered his eyes, his cheeks darkened with a blush. "I haven't been avoiding you. I've just had things on my mind." 

"Yeah, I know. Lila, your dad, how you're going to tell everybody you've suddenly decided to fuck your partner. Oh, excuse me. Maybe that last one is a bit presumptuous. We'll just pretend like everything's just the way it was." 

"What the hell are you talking about? We both agreed we shouldn't tell anyone right away." 

Taking another drink, Blair continued to fume. "We didn't agree to lie." 

"We didn't lie." 

"Jesus, man. Simon practically walked in on us when he stopped by. We had the perfect opportunity to just go ahead and tell him, but you just acted like nothing happened. Said you were in the middle of cleaning for Christsakes. I swear, you're a cold bastard sometimes." 

Jim turned, still holding the football, and walked over to the couch. He sat down hard and then leaned forward. "What did you want me to do. Tell him I took forever to answer the door because I was too busy fucking your tight ass?" 

"Listen to how you just said that, man. I can't believe I'm in love with such a prick." 

Jim stared up, his voice shaky. "Listen, I know what you're thinking." 

"Oh, now you're not only a sentinel, but a psychic, too?" 

"I know you, Chief. You think I didn't tell him because I'm embarrassed about us being together, but that's not it." 

Blair finished the beer, tossed the bottle, and got himself another. Twisting off the top too quickly brought a froth to his hand. He licked it off before it dripped, and then spoke as calmly as he could. Brittle words like chipped glass sliced his tongue. "Okay, if that's not it, what is it, because I've got to tell you, Jim, I'm a little lost here." 

"Look, I know it's going to be an adjustment when we finally come out, but I'm not worried about Simon. He's a fair person. It's not going to make a difference with him." 

"So, why the hesitation? Why lie?" 

"Because I felt guilty." 

"About being with me? Shit." 

Jim's voice rose only slightly above a whisper. "No, because of Lila." 

Shaking his head, still confused, Blair walked over to his partner and sat down beside him. "Man, I don't get it. Explain." 

"Blair, Simon knows about Lila." 

"Well, hell, Jim all of Major Crimes and most of the department knows about Lila. I wouldn't be surprised if the news crews and half of Cascade figured it out, too. So what?" 

"You don't understand." 

"Then make me understand." Blair leaned in closer touching his lover's thigh. A slight quiver rippled through the thick muscle. Jim's body heat surged through the young man's arm and tingled through his groin. He fought the urge to kiss the slightly bearded cheek. 

"They all know I slept with her. I made a fool out of myself over a murderer." 

"Jim, it's not the first time a man's done something dumb over a woman. I know you had feelings for her." 

"But I betrayed you." 

"How's that? We weren't even together yet." 

"But we were partners. I knew how I felt about you and I went ahead and slept with her anyway. It's not the first time either. You knew about Michelle." 

Blair slumped back. "What is this, Jim? True confessions? Come on, man. You know how many women I've slept with?" 

Jim forced a weak smile. "More than I want to count." 

"You bet. And how many of those do you suppose I slept with even after I realized I loved you?" 

Jim glanced over trying to read his lover's tense expression. He noted the defiant, still petulant jaw. "I guess this is the payback, huh? You're going to tell me whether I want to know or not." 

"There were five. And you know what else?" 

Sadly, Jim shook his head. "What else, Chief?" 

"I don't feel the least bit guilty about any of them." 

"And you shouldn't." 

"I shouldn't, but you should? See, there you go again. Double standard." 

Jim dropped his aching head into his uplifted palms. "God, Blair. I can't say any of this right." 

"You're right, not if you're going to keep talking trash. Listen, Jim. I'm not mad about Michelle or Lila or anybody else before we got together. The only thing I care about is now and the future. You sleep with anybody else now that we're lovers and I'll whip your sorry ass." 

"You think?" Jim managed a grin as he turned to watch his partner's face twist with the sincere and heavy weight of his promise. 

"Yes, most definitely. Now, back to the issue of Simon. We need to tell him, man." 

"I think he already knows, Chief." 

Nodding, Blair agreed. "He suspects that's for sure. I don't think you had to be a sentinel to smell the sex all over us when he came by. I know he wanted to say something, but he'd never step over that line. We still need to tell him." 

"How do you suggest we do that? Make a video?" 

Anger flared again. "Oh, funny, Jim. Keep it up and I swear you'd better propose to that damn football because it's going to be your only bed partner for awhile." 

The younger man started to get up only to find himself pushed back by a powerful hand. "Chief, you're starting to really piss me off here." 

"So, what else is new, JIM? Now, let go." 

Reluctantly, Jim removed his restraining arm and allowed Blair off the couch. Still seething, Blair walked toward the kitchen. "Why do you hate this football so much, Chief. It's almost like you really are jealous." 

"It's not the ball, Jim. It's what it stands for." 

"You're losing me here, Chief." 

Reaching down to the stack of books beside the table, Blair squatted to sort and lift them to one of the chairs. "Instead of talking, sharing what's bothering you, the football gets squeezed and slapped all over. It's a crutch. Maybe if you lost it, you'd be forced to really talk about what's going on." 

"Well then, take the damn thing." Without warning, Jim angrily threw the ball just as Blair stood and turned. The unexpected impact to the younger man's face sent him back into the counter's edge. Jim heard the smack against his lover's flesh. The coppery scent of blood scraped across the back of his throat as the vision of red blossomed in his sight. He leaped up to travel the spinning space between them. 

Blair pushed him away while struggling to contain the pain that flashed behind his lids. Eyes squeezed, the flood of warmth down his face and into his mouth brought on a round of coughing. The world fogged and blinked as he found himself sliding down to the floor. Jim's grabbed the back of his guide's head and shoulders protecting him from hitting anything else. The next thing he knew he lay sprawled in his sentinel's lap, his head pounding like a half-time parade. 

His words garbled as they tripped into the world. "Oh, man, what'd you do that for?" 

"I didn't mean to. I was aiming for the wall behind you. Now, stay still. Let me get a towel. Can you sit up for me here?" As soon as Jim shifted, Blair found himself slipping sideways, dizzy from the move. "Whoa there, Chief. Stay put a minute." 

Jim lowered himself beside his lover and gently tried to use the damp cloth to stop the bleeding. 

"Shit, Jim. It hurts." 

"I know, buddy. I'm sorry." Continuing to clean up the mess, sentinel fingers traced lightly over the nose. 

Blair swatted the hand away. "Stop that." 

"I don't think it's broken." 

"I cannot even believe you just did that." 

"Me, either, Chief. I don't know what I was thinking." 

"That's because you weren't thinking. You were just pissed." 

"I'm so sorry, Blair. I swear it was an accident." 

Taking the cool cloth from his lover's trembling hand, Blair started his own cleanup. The swollen tissue puffed up and throbbed heat beneath the coolness. He struggled to get to his feet and again rejected Jim's help. 

"Just back off, man." He stumbled into the bathroom, took a bleary look in the mirror. Even through the blood, he could already see the start of purple bruising. Jim stood in the doorway, his arms wrapped around his chest, his lips tightly drawn. Eyes too bright for clear vision begged for forgiveness. 

Shaking away the pounding in his head, Blair turned on the tap to rinse and rewet the cloth. The crimsom streams swirled down the drain. His nose stopped bleeding and he cleaned up what he could from the mess on his face. "Oh, man, Jim. Simon's going to love this one." 

The End 


End file.
